His family members have not heard from a cousin since the hurricane hit the island.

“It’s nerve-wracking, the not knowing," he said. "It’s just scary."

Nieves-Lugo's hometown is Puerto Rico. He's been following the plight of his aunt, Rosa Lugo, and her adult daughter, Milanee Acosta. They live northeast of the island, near Canovanas and the Rio Grande.

Hurricane winds knocked out their electricity. For a while, they were also without flowing water.

Rosa Lugo and Acosta have to wait in lines for the limited amount of food being distributed in their areas. But they have to drive to the San Juan metro area, which is 25 to 30 miles away, for other items.

The wait for one bag of ice is two to three hours. The wait for gas is four to five hours for gas, he said.

“Things are just not good at all," Nieves-Lugo said. "It’s definitely hard."

He said Rosa Lugo and Acosta are working to move into one home so they can function. Whenever Acosta is able to find a cell phone signal and connect with Nieves-Lugo, he senses her frustration and concern.

“I just want to cry because I wish I could do something,” said Nieves-Lugo, who moved to Greenville in 2006 and is CEO of UniComm Media Group, an advertising agency he founded with his brother, Gustavo, and their mother, Evelyn Lugo.

He and his family here are trying to get a 10,000-watt generator shipped to the family in Puerto Rico.

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Pamela Guzman, Nidia De Jesus and Nathalie Richard of Grace Community Church Ð Espaol Campus pose for a portrait outside the church on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2017. The church is collecting donations to send to Hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico.(Photo: JOSH MORGAN/Staff)

Local groups, organizations, and businesses are trying to help families in Puerto Rico in a variety of other ways.

Grace Church-Espanol Campus on Wade Hampton Boulevard is accepting donations for Hurricane Maria victims through Oct. 1, according to church member Angel Ramirez.

Greenville Bilingual Therapy, at 319 Garlington Road, Suite B-5, is also a collection site for Hurricane Maria donations.

The therapy center already has plenty of water to send to Puerto Rico, said Julia Colon. The biggest needs are food, baby food, baby wipes, new or used clothes (for babies and women), hand sanitizers, and batteries.

The items will be collected there until Oct. 3, so they can be sent to Jacksonville, Fla., on Oct. 5, Colon said.

Touch the Future Inc. in Anderson and Terenick Medina and her family have partnered to raise initially $25,000 and ultimately $100,000 to help meet "the immediate basic and disability-related needs post-Hurricane Maria victims."

Their efforts will continue until the rebuild of the community and individual homes are complete," their Facebook fundraising page said.